As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives. Henry David Thoreau
Trees are Earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven. Rabindranath Tagore

What does Earth Mean to YOU? To me, Mother Earth is the foundation of all that sustains us on this planet. We walk her path to grow, heal, help each other, and maintain our livelihood. We connect to our spirit through the magnificence we see in nature around us daily, and it is this greatness that keeps us in awe and gratitude. Why wouldn’t we want her to thrive? If she thrives, we thrive. As we prepare to celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, April 22, this week’s photo challenge – EARTH 2017 – gives us another opportunity to share the beauty of planet earth through our photographs. let us not forget that our beautiful planet can only remain fertile and safe from toxic pollutants if we stay vigilant and do our bit. Reduce your carbon footprint. Plant a tree. Learn about the Earth Day Network and their urgent call to action, and avail yourself of all you can from the theme for Earth Day 2017 which is Environmental and Climate Literacy. Support environmentally friendly products and companies. Reduce waste. Reconnect to farm grown foods. Stay aware and celebrate Mother Earth!

Photos: What and Where?: The middle photo was taken on a recent trip with one of my kids to the University of Iowa in Iowa City. When we landed at Cedar Rapids Airport, the first thing I noticed was the expansive and flat landscape. You could see for miles… The bridge is the Tappan Zee in Tarrytown, NY. The concrete structure and steep steps is a pathway in Kyoto, Japan. The orchids and the yellow poms/moms remind me of the beauty in nature that adds to the beauty of this earth. The sunset scene and the collage were taken by the Hudson River in Westchester County. The distant photo of the Hudson Valley and River was taken atop the Perkins Memorial Tower at Bear Mountain State Park, NY. From the top of that tower, you can actually see 4 states; New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Isn’t that amazing?

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“Life is abundant, and life is beautiful. And it’s a good place that we’re all in, you know, on this earth, if we take care of it.” Alice Walker

There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast. Charles Dickens
Sense the blessings of the earth in the perfect arc of a ripe tangerine, the taste of warm, fresh bread, the circling flight of birds, the lavender color of the sky shining in a late afternoon rain puddle, the million times we pass other beings in our cars and shops and out among the trees without crashing, conflict, or harm. Jack Kornfield

What do you know about Earth Day, the Environment and Climate Change? If you are serious about learning everything you need to know about the environment at climate change, there are Toolkits: Earth Day in a Box and Teach-In materials to help you learn how to rally others in your circle of influence, educate each other, stay armed with information, stay motivated, and take simple yet decisive daily action to protect our environment. You can also participate in a Teach-In to help you get on top of your carbon footprint. Make every day Earth Day by your actions and sensitivity to all living beings in nature and on earth.

This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post: EARTH – This week, share an image that means “earth” to you — whether it’s a panorama of a landscape that takes your breath away, a close-up revealing a detail in nature, or another scene that honors the outdoors, we welcome your takes on the theme!

I wasn’t aware about Earth Day until a few years ago and ever since then, I would make sure to teach my kids about the world that we live in and how to take care of it. It’s nice to be able to do something to help out. We won’t have anything to leave the kids if we don’t take care of the Earth.

I try very much to be connected with the earth and the environment. I feel the most at home when I’m outside. I think Earth Day is an important part of creating awareness for environmental issues. Thanks for pointing this out as a reminder to people!

It is so important to be educated about our earth and climate change. So many people disregard it because they think other people in higher positions will take care of it or they outright don’t understand so they don’t believe our earth is in danger. It is up to each of us to share this important message and to work each day to help our earth. I will have to check out The Story of Climate Change and get working on my sustainable resolutions in my house.

When I was in high school I joined the environmental conscious club at school as well as the ecology club. I wanted to be more aware of what was going with our planet. I think we need to be more conscious. Great post. I will def check out the links to learn more.

Thanks for sharing… totally just kidding lol. It’s good that you’re spreading awareness through social media. The only way we can make the world a better place is to hold ourselves accountable. This is a good way to do it; have people share what they love about nature.

Great post. Yes it is important that we take care of our Earth. We only have one. Although I haven’t planted any trees recently. Do recycle and try to pitch in. If we all do a little, we can make a big difference.

I love this challenge! I think that celebrating Earth day is key, especially with kids. It helps them be aware of the bigger picture and that this is our only home. I love all of the pictures, Earth is such an amazing place with beauty everywhere.

I have never heard about Earth Day Network, but this is such a great way to help bring people together for the sake of our planet. It is a reminder to myself that I need to do more, and that I can do so much more. After all, if we ruin this earth there are no second chances.

True. A lot is spoken but a little is done towards it. And to cope the climate disaster we have havoc, it’s high time that we start celebrating 22nd of every month as the Earth day instead of just once a year. The more people educated about stuff like this, will help in maintaining the sustenance.

Any little act, done regularly, to protect and preserve the environment can have that ripple effect. Be an example, initiate and educate family members to do their part. As with all good things, it should start with our very own family in our own homes.

Earth day means a lot to me because every day of the year I actively live to be good to our planet and then we have a day to celebrate that!! Last year I made seed bombs with wildflower seeds and tossed them around in unattended areas for the bees.

I love all the photos, beautiful! Earth day is one of the important events which reminds us to stop and think about how we are really treating our nature and how beautiful it is. I hope more people will be aware and take action.

I remember when I was little we used to celebrate Earth Day in school by making different projects to raise awareness and learn about the planet we live on. It was really interesting and I hope they still continue this tradition in school.

I thought your photo looked like Iowa! We live only a couple of hours away from Iowa City and I went to the U of I for two years before finishing at Iowa State. Iowa City is such a great town .. I hope you guys had a chance to walk through the Ped Mall and also up and down all of the hills on campus.

It’s a good topic to talk and make others aware of protecting mother earth.For me each day is an Earth Day.Though we cant do many things practically,we can easily adopt things such as protecting water,recycling etc to protect the environment.At home,I try to practice such things with my kid hoping he will raise as a responsible adult!

Earth day is upon us once again. Aren’t we lucky we still have an Earth to call home after all the destruction we’ve been doing? I do my very best to help preserve the environment, not for my own benefit but for the generations to come.